Did you know that 77% of Americans are anxious about their financial situation? Are you one of them? Do you stay up at night worrying about whether you will have enough money to live off of during your retirement?
One way to alleviate this anxiety, worry, and fear is by hiring a fee-only financial planner. They can help you create a financial plan for you and your loved ones that’s forward-thinking and unbiased. Read on to see some benefits of a fee-only financial planner.
1. They Give You Unbiased Advice
A fee-only financial planner is paid for their advice rather than for just choosing particular types of financial products. That’s why they are more likely to spend time gauging your current financial health and how to get you from where you are to where you wish to be.
They don’t focus all their time with you recommending financial products. In fact, most of their time is spent discussing how you can make better financial choices so you don’t end up with more life than money after retirement.
The great thing about them is that because they are NOT receiving commissions from the products they recommend, they are free to recommend whatever they think is best for the client. It’s not about padding their pockets with commissions, but about choosing the best product for their client’s future.
You can rest assured when hiring a fee-only financial planner that they will have your best interest at heart and they won’t be biased towards offering certain products more than others.
2. Their Costs Are More Predictable Than Other Types of Financial Planners
With other types of financial planners, there are more grey zones when it comes to cost. That’s not the case with fee-only financial planners. You don’t need to worry about or wonder what your fees with a fee-only financial planner would be.
In fact, it’s pretty straightforward from the get-go. This can help you rest easier at night knowing that you don’t have to fork out hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees for their unbiased advice.
And this is great for your financial portfolio, because the more money you save on fees, the more money you can spend on investing into your future.
Finally, a fee-only financial planner is more open to negotiating their costs with their clients. That’s why you should feel comfortable having that conversation with them. If they know that you are struggling or if you are in an unusual situation, they might be able to give you a break of some sort.
You never know until you ask!
3. They Can Help Create a Comprehensive Financial Plan For You
If you are searching for someone who will help you with creating a plan for managing your investment portfolio, you need a fee-only financial planner. That’s exactly what they specialize in.
Don’t forget to ask your financial planner to include all aspects of your financial life in your plan. For example, if you are building a retirement portfolio for financial independence, your plan should consider tax planning, estate planning, income planning, and investment planning.
A financial planner will create a well-rounded plan for you that includes all aspects of your future financial life. That way you can rest easy knowing that nothing unexpected will pop out in your financial future and throw your plan into disarray and chaos.
4. They Have a Wide Variety of Payment Choices
Another great advantage of hiring a fee-only financial planner is that they have a wide variety of payment options. Some of them will charge by the hour or have a flat fee for service. Others will ask for a retainer.
Yet others will only work with clients who have $250,000 (or some other amount) or more in investments. Some fee-only financial planners charge a percentage of the amount of money they invest for you.
As iterated earlier, a fee-only financial planner is more open to negotiating their payment structure. That’s why you should always feel free to have a conversation with them about it before hiring them. Also, don’t forget to compare financial planner costs by speaking to several of them at once before choosing the one for you.
Fee-Only vs Fee-Based Financial Planners
As you might have surmised, a fee-based financial planner gets paid by the client, but also by other sources, such as commissions on financial products that clients purchase. That means that there is the possibility of a bit of bias (towards certain commission-based products) creeping into their recommendations.
Of course, they would say that they are unbiased and only recommend the best products to their clients. But the temptation is there, nonetheless.
If you feel like you would like to work with a financial planner without that doubt in the back of your mind, a fee-only financial planner is the way to go. There’s no conflict of interest there, which means your financial planner will always recommend products that are best for you and your goals, rather than what’s best for their income.
A Fee-Only Financial Planner Is the Right Choice for You
Keeping the above benefits in mind, you might conclude that a fee-only financial planner is the right choice for you. If that’s the case, don’t delay and hire a financial planner asap so you can start building your financial future now. This way you can take advantage of the power of time when investing.
If you are a wealth builder in your 40s or 50s seeking financial independence, then contact The Asset Advisory Group Inc. (TAAG) – trusted financial advisors for over 30 years to a wide variety of clients. They are fee-only financial planners who are waiting to help you start living and stop wondering about your financial goals and planning.
Gain the financial clarity you need to live the good life!